Multiple roll rolling mill



April 14, 1964 A. e. E. LEUFVEN MULTIPLE ROLL ROLLING MILL Filed June '7, 1960 mvzNrpn AXEL GUSTAV EDVARD LEUFVEN ATTYS.

United States Patent 3,128,650 MULTHPLE ROLL RGLLING MILL Axel Gustav Edvard Lenfvn, Goteborg, Sweden, assignor to Alrtiebolaget Svenslra Kullageriabriken, Goteborg,

Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed June 7, 1965), Ser. No. 34,398 Claims priority, application Sweden June 16, 1959 6 Claims. (CI. 80-38) Working rolls of small diameters should be used when rolling thin strip material and the like. These working rolls are subjected to load not only from the vertically directed rolling pressure but also from horizontal forces resulting, for example, through tension on the material being rolled from the reel upon which it is wound. The small working rolls should therefore be supported in both vertical and horizontal directions. In cluster mills each working roll is supported directly by two backing-up rolls. In this arrangement, however, space does not permit of the use of sufliciently strong backing-up rolls when used with very small Working rolls. It is therefore customary to insert intermediate rolls between the working rolls and the backing up rolls in multiple rol-l mills, in which heavy backing-up rolls are required.

The present invention relates to a multiple roll mill for rolling strip material in which the material is rolled between a pair of work-ing rolls of small diameter of which at least one of the working rolls has a pair of backing-up rolls located respectively in front of and behind the working roll in the direction of rolling and arranged to take up part of the working pressure through intermediate rolls, there being a pressure roll located in substantially the same vertical plane as the working rolls to take up the remainder of the working pressure either through direct contact with the said intermediate rolls or through one or more secondary pressure rolls. The other working roll of the rolling mill can be provided either with fixed bearings for all of the rolls or may be provided with an arrangement of backing-up intermediate and pressure rolls similar to the first described working roll.

Multiple roll mills have been previously proposed, in which adjustment of the working roll is carried out by mounting the backing-up rolls on opposite sides of the working roll in eccentric bearings so that they can be moved toward or from the intermediate rolls, or alternatively, the halves of the rolling mill may be adjusted relative to each other with the aid of bolts. The first mentioned design is expensive to make, and in the second design there will be a noticeable yielding in the housing when subjected to high working pressures. These disadvantages are overcome in the device according to the present invention, mainly in that the two backing-up rolls on the respective sides of the working roll are carried in fixed bearings, and the pressure roll is displaceable in a direction toward and from the working roll to vary the spacing between the Working roll and the fixed backing-up rolls.

The invention is described with reference to the accompany-ing drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a view partly in section, in the direction of movement of the material being rolled, of a form of the invention comprising a multiple roll mill having eight intermediate rolls.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along the line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show diagrammatically two further forms of the invention having six and four intermediate rolls, respectively.

For the sake of simplicity, only the upper half of the rolling mill is described in the following, since the lower half is of similar design.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the numeral 11 designates a pair of working rolls of small diameter partially supported by a pair of backing-up rolls 1 3 through a pair of intermediate rolls 12 located symmetrically at opposite sides of the working roll. The rolls 12 are floatingly mounted in the mill for free movement in horizontal and vertical directions. The distance between the working roll 11 and the respective supporting rolls 1 3 is less than the diameter of the intermediate rolls 12. The axes of rotation 22 of the intermediate rolls are located above the level of planes 23 through the axis of the working roll 11 and the axes 24 and 25 respectively of the backing-up rolls 13. These latter are carried in fixed bearing housings 16 which are bolted together by means of bolts 17 prestressed with a force greater than the rolling pressure. The bearing housings 16 may engage each other either directly or through insertions applied between them.

The vertical position of the working roll is adjusted with the aid of a pressure roll 15 located centrally above the working roll. This pressure roll partially supports the above-mentioned intermediate rolls 12 through two secondary pressure rolls 14. The working rolls are thus each ultimately supported by a pair of backing-up rolls 13 and a pressure roll 15. The rolls 14 and 15 are carried in bearing housings 1 9 and 20, which are displaceable in a vertical direction and guided in a horizontal direction by hearing housings 16. The bearing housings 19 and 20 can be adjusted in a vertical direction by means of adjusting screws 18 working through a worm gear 21. When the roller 15 is adjusted in a direction toward the working roll 11, the intermediate rolls 12 will be pressed downward and outward, whereby the working roll 11 will also be pressed downward, although to a considerably less degree than the roll 15. The vertical displacement of the working roll thus being less than that of the pressure roll, it is clear that greater accuracy of the adjustment of the working roll can be obtained. The less the distance between the axis 22 of the intermediate roll and the planes 23, the more accurately can the adjustment be made. In the form of the invention shown, the rolls are provided with necks carried in fixed or displaceable hearing housings, respectively. It is clear that without departing from the essentials of the invention, the rolls can be rota-tably carried on fixed or displaceable shafts.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show diagrammatically alternative forms of a rolling mill according to the invention. In FIG. 3, a single secondary pressure roll 14' has been substituted for the pair of secondary pressure rolls 14, and in FIG. 4, the pressure roll 15" directly engages the intermediate rolls 12". In this latter case the backing-up rolls must be made with smaller diameters than in the former. If desired, the lower pressure roll may also be mounted for vertical adjustment, as shown, for example, by the arrow on the lower roll 15". Otherwise, the principle is the same as in the device according to FIG. 1. The remaining parts in the forms of the inventions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, which are substantially the same as the parts of the mill shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, are numbered with identical reference numerals.

In addition to the advantages enumerated above, it may be mentioned that the housings of the rolling mill may be divided along a vertical and horizontal plane to provide four symmetrically arranged sections at each end of the rolls. No stand in the usual sense of the word is thus required. Since it is of prime importance that the rolls are completely parallel with each other, the requirements regarding the positioning of the bearing housings will be very stringent in stands of conventional type. In the present design, the vertical and side positions of the bearings can be adjusted by means of suitable shims between the four sections of the bearing housings 16, whereby accurate parallelism of the rolls can be easily obtained, even with comparatively wide tolerances, thereby lowering the cost of manufacturing the mill.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that changes and modifications may be incorporated within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. A multiple roll rolling mill for rolling strip material and the like, comprising; a pair of working rolls between which the strip material is rolled, said working rolls being disposed in a predetermined common plane transverse to the direction of the material, two backing-up rolls disposed respectively in front of and behind at least one of said working rolls in the direction of passage of the material therebetween, non-adjustible, fixed bearings mounted in said mill concentrically journalling each said backing-up roll therein, at least one pair of intermediate rolls, one of said intermediate rolls positioned in engagement between said one working roll and one of said backingup rolls, the other of said intermediate rolls positioned in engagement between said one working roll and the other of said backing-up rolls, a pressure roll disposed in the same plane as said working roll and adjustably mounted for movement in only said plane relative to said working roll and acting on said intermediate rolls to vary the spacing of the working roll with respect to the fixed backing-up rolls, a bearing housing mounted in said mill concentrically journalling said pressure roll therein which is displaceable in said plane of the working rolls and guided against displacement in a direction transverse thereto and means for adjusting said pressure roll.

2. A multiple roll mill according to claim 1 wherein the axes of rotation of said intermediate rolls are disposed at one side of the planes passing through each backing-up roll and the working roll, and between the latter and the pressure roll.

3. A multiple roll mill according to claim 1, characterized in that the rolling mill housings comprise a plurality of separably interconnected sections in which are mounted bearings for the fixed backing-up rolls.

4. A multiple roll mill according to claim 3, characterized in that the housing sections are interconnected by means of bolts prestressed with a force greater than that to which they are subjected during rolling.

5. A multiple roll rolling mill for rolling strip material and the like, comprising; a pair of working rolls between which the strip material is rolled, said working rolls being disposed in a common vertical plane transverse to the direction of movement of the material, two backing-up rolls disposed respectively in front of and behind each of said working rolls in the direction of passage of the material therebetween, non-adjustable fixed bearings mounted in said mill concentrically journalling each said backing-up roll therein, two pairs of intermediate rolls, one of each pair of intermediate rolls positioned in engagement between each working roll and a respective backing-up roll on one side of said vertical plane, the other of each pair of intermediate rolls positioned in engagement between each working roll and a respective backing-up roll on the opposite side of said vertical plane, a pair of pressure rolls disposed in the same vertical plane as said working rolls, each of said pressure rolls acting on a pair of said intermediate rolls, a bearing housing for each said pressure roll mounted in said mill concentrically journalling said pressure roll therein, each said bearing housing being displaceable in a vertical direction and being guided against horizontal displacement whereby each pressure roll may be adjusted relative to the working roll on which it acts to vary the spacing of said working roll with respect to the fixed backing-up rolls.

6. A multiple roll mill according to claim 5, characterized in that the bearings of all of the rolls supporting one of said working rolls are fixed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,875,220 Coe Aug. 30, 1932 1,903,124 Rohn Apr. 11, 1933 2,075,394 Hazelett Mar. 30,1937 2,085,449 Rohn June 29, 1937 2,169,711 Sendzimir Aug. 15, 1939 2,367,715 Chapman Jan. 23, 1945 2,368,030 Larsson Jan. 23, 1945 2,776,586 Sendzimir Jan. 8, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 992,335 France July 11, 1951 

1. A MULTIPLE ROLL ROLLING MILL FOR ROLLING STRIP MATERIAL AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING; A PAIR OF WORKING ROLLS BETWEEN WHICH THE STRIP MATERIAL IS ROLLED, SAID WORKING ROLLS BEING DISPOSED IN A PREDETERMINED COMMON PLANE TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF THE MATERIAL, TWO BACKING-UP ROLLS DISPOSED RESPECTIVELY IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND AT LEAST ONE OF SAID WORKING ROLLS IN THE DIRECTION OF PASSAGE OF THE MATERIAL THEREBETWEEN, NON-ADJUSTIBLE, FIXED BEARINGS MOUNTED IN SAID MILL CONCENTRICALLY JOURNALLING EACH SAID BACKING-UP ROLL THEREIN, AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF INTERMEDIATE ROLLS, ONE OF SAID INTERMEDIATE ROLLS POSITIONED IN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID ONE WORKING ROLL AND ONE OF SAID BACKINGUP ROLLS, THE OTHER OF SAID INTERMEDIATE ROLLS POSITIONED IN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID ONE WORKING ROLL AND THE OTHER OF SAID BACKING-UP ROLLS, A PRESSURE ROLL DISPOSED IN THE SAME PLANE AS SAID WORKING ROLL AND ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT IN ONLY SAID PLANE RELATIVE TO SAID WORKING ROLL AND ACTING ON SAID INTERMEDIATE ROLLS TO VARY THE SPACING OF THE WORKING ROLL WITH RESPECT TO THE FIXED BACKING-UP ROLLS, A BEARING HOUSING MOUNTED IN SAID MILL CONCENTRICALLY JOURNALLING SAID PRESSURE ROLL THEREIN WHICH IS DISPLACEABLE IN SAID PLANE OF THE WORKING ROLLS AND GUIDED AGAINST DISPLACEMENT IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE THERETO AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING SAID PRESSURE ROLL. 